italics - thoughts

Bold - Emphasis

Italics Bold - Magic names or titles

"normal" - speech

" underlined bold " - Mental transmissions

Underlined - Flashback

{Bold}- Magic spells or abilities

Disclaimer:I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index nor its characters. All rights belong to Kazuma Kamachi. Except for my own characters that I create

Chapter 29: Clash of the Hands Final

The first thing that Patricia remembered about her family was not the usual things that any child would remember. At least, that was what she thought.

The first thing she recalled was her reading a complicated-looking book along with her father and sister. It had been nearly nine years since then, so she could not recall all the details about it, but she could still remember the unique scent of dusty books and the sight of faded words on the books.

The next memory was of her and her sister playing with some sticks they had found in their father's study. Sure, they got scolded later on by their parents, the first time for Patricia for sure, but that was not what made the young Birdway remember this particular memory.

It was the pretty sparkles and tricks that came out whenever they swung the stick around.

It illuminated the darkening study they had been in. The two sisters, for the first time since they had been born, had played together and had fun. But after that, her memory was…blurry.

And after that day, they did not ever venture into their father's study ever again. Or rather, only her elder sister had access to their father's study after he passed.

It was one of the reasons why Patricia started to study so intensely when she was but at the young age of five. Not because she was a super genius(it would be a lie to say that she was not a genius, since she already had quite a few sponsors and a large amount of cash under her name at the tender age of 11), but because she thought that if she showed she had the qualification to do so, she would be able to join her sister in looking through their father's study and reading through whatever notes he had made in his time as a scientist and as a historian.

Sadly for the young Birdway, it was not to be.

Her mother, who had always been frail, had to be hospitalised indefinitely soon after Patricia turned nine, her health suddenly deteriorating for reasons unknown to her.

Her elder sister, as time flew by, started to leave the house for longer and longer trips. It seemed weird to Patricia, but Leivina assured her sister it was fine, since she was skipping ahead a few grades because of how smart she was(not to the extent of her sister, but close enough), and that she was helping out in the family business that their parents manged on their off days. It was a little flimsy, but enough to sate Patricia's curiosity.

In the beginning, it was every few days. But the time they spent apart slowly became longer and longer. From days, to weeks, and to months. In fact, the last she saw of her elder sister was three months ago, when they had met up for the first time after the fiasco that had appeared in the UK. That, of course, lead to the present predicament.

Their large house, which had exuded this homely aura, started to become more akin to that of an abandoned house. Were it not for the fact that many of the rooms were constantly being renovated for her to use to for her experiments, research papers, and souvenirs she got, the entire house might have turned into a dusty, spooky-looking haunted house from how large it was. There was only so much that a young girl like her could do to keep the house in a liveable position after all!

Well thankfully, she was able to hire some maids and butlers to periodically clean their home. Which was something they need, since the two of them could not cook at all. Like, the last time they attempted to do so, their poor test subject(AKA their father) had to be sent to the hospital to due to how purple his face had become.

To this day, Patricia STILL had no idea how on earth their food poisoned their father to such a degree, it not only sent him to be hospitalised for several days, but their kitchen had to be cordoned off from the repulsive fumes that had lingered from their attempt at cooking.

All in all, Patricia loved her sister. All the memories she had of her elder sibling were very fond, and she wanted to continue making more memories with her.

That was why…

I won't let you go through with this plan, Leivinia! Patricia thought to herself as she fought against her elder sister, who had also manged to get some sort of thing that allowed her to fight against her. I will get rid of that tumour in your body, and survive this! Don't worry!

The first thing that Leivinia thought when she had first lain her eyes on her sister was that she was adorable.

But slowly, as time passed, that feeling changed. The happiness and eagerness she had felt the first time she saw her younger sibling slowly became secondary to this foreign feeling that bubbled up within her when she looked at the younger Birdway. And this feeling remained a mystery, the elder Birdway unable to put a name to that particular feeling, until their father came across them playing with some experimental symbolic weapons her father had made for the two of them when they grew up.

The first thing he did was scold the two of them for their reckless playing with something that dangerous. But that protective anger their father emitted quickly turned to worry when they saw the younger Birdway start to bleed from her nose.

"…Papa? I'm bleeding!" The young Patricia had cried out with a giggle on her face, amused by the sight of the red liquid her body secreted, before she collapsed against the floor, drool, snot and blood being rubbed against the wooden floors.

Healing magic was hastily cast on the young girl, and Leivinia had been there to see it happen.

This was the first encounter with magic that would start her off on the path of a magician that would eventually lead to her joining the magic cabal the Dawn-Coloured Sunlight.

After seeing the magic being used before her eyes, the older Birdway sister had asked their father what he had done. That was when she was told the history of their family.

An old family with ties to the original British Family. As the hidden protectors and historians of the UK. But as time passed, they slowly drifted apart due to their interest in Science, before they were cast out due to some circumstances. Now, they were just another family that practised magic, their names having been erased from the records that were in the Royal Family's hands.

This was when Leivinia Birdway decided to create two goals.

The first, making her family's standing as great as it was back when they were one of the hidden protectors of the Royal Family and the UK. The second, the protection of her younger sister from the Magic side.

As it turned out, her sister was able to refine mana. But unlike Leivinia, the process the younger Birdway had done was incomplete in some form. It allowed life force to be refined into mana, but this process was too much for the young Birdway's body, it seemed. She could refine mana and cast magic just fine, but over a prolonged time, the chances of Patricia having internal bleeding became higher and higher. And for the life of them, they could not figure out how and why this was happening. So until further notice, the magic side of the family was to be kept secret from the young Patricia Birdway.

...Well, the parents wanted each of their daughters to tread down the Science side and Magic side respectively. They had just not known which daughter was going to tread which path. This event just solidified who was going down which path.

A few years passed, and their father died. It was sudden, no warning of it happening. One moment, he was standing upright, wiping sweat from his brow as he marvelled at the history compilation he had finished. The next, his head was flat against his desk, hands clutched over his chest.

He was pronounced dead at the scene from a heart attack.

Mere months after the death of their father, their mother fell ill, and had to be hospitalised in the ICU for a while, before she was moved to the long-term wards. Like her father, it was sudden. But unlike him, she had manged to survive. Whether it be blessing or curse, she had survived, stuck in a coma for the past two years. No one could tell why the mother of the two Birdway siblings had fallen ill, and no one could cure her. Even her genius sister was stumped.

But unlike her younger sister, Leivinia knew exactly what had happened.

Their family had become targets for the Magic side. Specifically, the jealous magicians who were envious of the progress that their father made with his creation of symbolic weapons. They were afraid he was trying to get back into the fold of the Royal Family, to impress them with his prowess of creating symbolic weapons.

So, they poisoned him and their mother. And next in line were them, their children. They did not want to take the chance that the father had passed the craft down to his children.

But what they did not count on was the furious retaliation of the elder Birdway, one of the two handcrafted symbolic weapons her father had made for them before he passed in hand. And the result was their slaughter.

More time passed. Eventually, the two sisters excelled in their respective fields. Patricia in the field of Science. And Leivinia in the field of Magic. Both with the goal of protecting their family.

Patricia eventually became a famous scientist who was hailed as a genius, with multiple degrees under her belt.

Leivnia became a the leader of the Dawn-Coloured Sunlight, a magic cabal whose goals aligned wit hers: The co-existence of the Magic and Science side.

It would be fitting, she had thought then. That she would be leader of a cabal who was a branch from the Golden Dawn, the Magic cabal that her family had once dreamed of joining. That she would be the leader of the cabal who would unite the two sides, and thus make her family name famous, like it had once been in the past. That her sister would once more be at her side, with no secrets between the two of them.

So that was why…

I will save you, Patricia! Leivinia thought to herself as she wrapped the rotten-looking rug around her. I won't let you get exposed to this side any longer!

The two sisters clashed against each other fiercely. Traces of the things that surrounded their small bodies were littered from every clash they made.

Attacking, blocking, parrying. Each of these were made with squelching sounds, and each time they jumped to attack, the ground around them would have small cracks from the force they outputted.

Sticky noises sounded out through the night as they fought.

One sister believed that through this fight, they would be able to save their sister by making them eat thee fruit that was being cultivated inside her, and buy her time to live and survive.

The other sister believed that through this fight, by crushing and removing the fruit their sister was cultivating, that sister would survive. Because she refused that ticket that would enable her to go back home.

One wanted to save the sister from Sample Shoggoth, a parasite that latched onto her from a twist of fate.

One believed that she should be left alone, since it was her fault that Sample Shoggoth got inside her, so it wasn't the other sister's responsibility.

But there was a key difference between the two, despite the fact that the both of them wanted to save the other.

One knew that the fruit was no longer being cultivated inside their own body. The other, did not.

So, what would the outcome of the battle be when the fighting ends?

The answer, would be a loss to both sides.

One would lose their sister from organs being eaten by the parasite, the cultivated fruit not sufficient enough for the black mass to sate its hunger due to the injuries and energy it expended from the battle.

One would find that their fight was not needed in the end, for the 'tumour' was actually aa fruit the sister had been cultivating due to a lack of resources until they reached Academy City, where it would be cultivated until it's final stages and ready to be eaten. And afterwards, have her life dangling in the balance as the parasite decided to feed to replenish its energy and the parts of its body that is lost.

"Patricia…" Leivinia decided to stop the fighting for a moment. "Stop this. Once you eat the fruit that I have been growing, your life would no longer be hanging by a single thread. You would have more time to find a way to survive!"

"At the cost of your life?" Patricia took the chance to speak, the cocoon of black opening up around her face to allow her to speak clearly. "No, Leivinia. If I die, then that means you won't die. All I have to do is reach into your chest and crush that tumour you have been growing to save your life. If all it takes is my life, then that is fine."

"NO!" Leivinia shouted. "I won't allow it! I won't allow you to sacrifice your life for mine! And besides, that tumour is-"

"IT WON'T SAVE ME, LEIVNIA!" Patricia shouted. "That tumour would only buy me time. Just like you said. And if the cost of me getting a bit more time to survive is your death, then I won't accept it! Not at all! If I have to sacrifice my life to save yours, then so be it!"

With a sudden burst of speed, Patricia leapt at her sister, spear-like appendages appearing at the side of her and thrusting at the centre of Leivinia's chest. Cursing, the elder Birdway used the magical animal skin wrapped around her to parry the swift attack, and discreetly swipe off some of the parasite that was outside of Patricia.

"That 'tumour' is no longer in my body, Patricia!" Leivinia said as she disengaged from the younger Birdway, landing on the ground. "It has been removed from my chest! Right now, it is growing elsewhere!"

"…how?" Patricia stopped attacking, suspicion laced in her tone. "I…I still remember the scans that I took! That tumour was directly behind your ribcage! To get it out, they would have to saw through several bones in your chest, and even then, there was no guarantee they would be able to remove it without any complications!"

Leivinia knew she had to hurry. Every second they waste was a second more that Patricia's life was about to end. The parasite latched to her had intelligence, but it could only be distracted and fooled for so long before it decided to take more of its host's organs and remaining fats. And in turn, ending her life.

Removing the magic item, Leivinia unbuttoned her blouse as fast as possible, exposing her chest for her sister to see. "See? No tumour!"

At first, Patricia wanted to act first and think later. After all, her goal of crushing the 'tumour' was right there for the taking! But, her eyes did not see the pulsating, twisted mass of flesh anywhere on her sister's bosom. Slowly, eyes wide with disbelief, Patricia inched closer Leivinia, her gaze fixed on the relatively smooth chest of her sister. "…how?"

"I know a good doctor." Leivinia responded. She purposefully kept the person a mystery. All explanations can be given later.

"…Then…you're okay?" Leivinia could see that her sister's shoulders were trembling in the setting sun's rays.

"Yeah." A small smile instinctively made it's way onto her face as she spoke. "I'm fine, Patricia. So, will you eat the fruit now? It's not really a tumour. Just a mass of corn starch I had been cultivating inside my body temporarily."

"…Now you are explaining what it is?" Patricia gave a short bark of laughter as she wiped the tears from her eyes, sniffling as she did so. "Why didn't you say anything when I asked you the first time?"

"…I…did not want to you to worry." Leivinia admitted. That, and I could not disclose magic to you, nor the fact that I would have most likely died in the process. "I was…always going to survive getting the fruit out. It just…I did not expect the fruit to cultivate so quickly."

"Where did you get the idea for that, anyway?" Patricia asked, hiccupping a little. "Don't tell me it was from one of the papers dad left behind."

"Kind of?" Patricia shrugged. In all honesty, the growing of a new organ was something she came across from multiple sources, some of which their father's own papers.

Patricia weakly chuckled. "Is that so…I guess- URGH!"

Suddenly, Patricia doubled over, her dainty arms clutching her stomach as she did so.

"Patricia?!" Leivinia shouted in a worried tone. "What's wrong? Is it the parasite?!"

"GAH~!" Patricia screamed in pain, the black substance around her wriggling as she screamed. It also seemed to have lost the strength to cling against the building it had been on, allowing the young girl to go into freefall.

Hastily, Leivinia leapt up and caught her sister. She's light…too light…

Even in her arms, Patricia kept squirming and screaming in pain. But because of the parasite in her, there was little strength behind each flailing limb.

What was once a clash between two family members who were not holding anything back, was now the scene of a family member clinging onto another family member, who was in pain. The violence they had unleashed upon each other was now nothing more than screams and shout of worry, pain and frustration.

This is bad… Leivinia's worries had come true. At the worst possible timing as well. Now that it is no longer fighting for it's life, Sample Shoggoth is now devouring my sister's insides to replenish the energy and mass it had lost. And I don't even have the fruit on me! But…

"Grimoire Library!" Leivinia shouted out loud, her voice echoing in the alleyway they had been fighting in. This is a slim chance, but-! "Bring the fruit here! Quickly!"

"…Lei…vinia…ARGH!" Patricia tried to say her sister's name, but grunted in pain at the last moment.

"Shh…it's okay. I'm here." The elder Birdway sibling knew that she did not have enough time. Her sister's insides were most likely being slowly devoured so as to prolong and amplify the pain that it's host was in. And there was also no telling how much of her sister's body would remain intact, even after she consumed the fruit that she had cultivated. So-

For Patricia. Steeling herself, the Cabal Boss of the Dawn-Coloured Sunlight jabbed her arm into her sister's stomach.

And then the pain began.

Touma had already been walking towards Index when he heard the screams coming from his back.

Shit! Touma grit his teeth. He wanted to run in to help whoever was screaming, but he knew that in this case, his right hand would most likely do more harm than good. The parasite was sentient. And like all sentient beings, they reacted when they were in pain. And as such, he had no doubt that the parasite would react strongly to having parts of it being suddenly destroyed. And most likely, it would be painful for the parasite.

So, instead of running towards the screams, he ran away from them.

Towards the person that held the fruit that Leivinia had been painstakingly cultivating within her body this entire time.

"Index!"

"Hm? Touma!" The nun's face, which had a grim look set on her face, morphed into one of worry as the two approached each other. "Did you hear that?"

"Yeah." Touma checked over the small girl, along with the two other Magic gods next to her. "Othinus, Nephthys, are you okay?"

"Well, Nephthys was hit by that 'Turn-to-a-Fairy' spell, so she is considerably weakened and in some pain, but other than that, we are fine." The war goddess sprang up from behind Index's habit as she gave her report.

"Is that so…" Touma gave a non-committal grunt. "Index, do you have the fruit?"

"Ah, yeah." Digging into the rucksack she had been carrying, Index took out a small container that had some tubes leading out into some bags tapped to it. "I heard screams earlier. Was that…"

"Most likely Birdway's sister." Touma confirmed.

Then, they heard Leivinia shout out. "Grimoire Library! Bring the fruit here! Quickly!"

"You go to her first." Touma spoke in a tense tone. "I'll catch up later."

"Touma, where are you going?"

"…To get some help."

..

By the time Touma managed to get Claire(and by extension, Kamisato), they were met with a rather…horrifying scene.

Patricia's body, which had looked to be in the peak of health for a ten year old, now looked like it was severely malnourished, her bones showing up through her skin. Blood was also slowly but surely pouring out of her abdomen.

Leivinia's entire left arm from elbow down was coated in the black gunk that was the parasite called Sample Shoggoth. Touma wagered the only reason why it had not advanced further then that was because of the animal skin that had wrapped itself tightly around her upper arm. But underneath it, Touma could see raw, pink tissue and white bone.

She had sacrificed the meat and fat on her arm to buy her sister some time.

Shit! "Birdway!" Touma rushed down next to the elder Birdway, taking care not to touch her arm as he did so. "Have you used the fruit?"

"…Y-yeah." Leivinia gritted out, beads of sweat running down her forehead as she responded. "Patricia is hanging on, but just barely."

"…You two, you got swept away by the atmosphere, huh." Touma sighed. Ignoring the spluttering Leivinia, Touma turned towards Kamisato. "You said before that you didn't gain that power because you wanted to and that you aren't doing this because you want to, right?"

"…And?" Kamisato looked nonplussed abut Touma's words.

"If you can stand here, look at those sisters, and still say that again, then you can sit there on your pathetic little ass. I'll go take care of everything." Touma spat out.

"…"

"But if…if you look at these two and feel something, will you be compelled to help them?" Touma made a reversal of his previous statement. "Listen, rookie. The kind of normal high school boy you can find anywhere is someone who can become a hero at any time if they happen to see someone in need! So if you feel anything at all, help me end their suffering!"

..

It was completely normal for a person to wish to help someone if they were suffering. But most of the time, that person would not choose to help that person. Be it due to circumstances that they were in, or because of their own past stopping them.

But, if that person did not even try to help because they decided they could no, then they were even lower than average.

They were just losers. After all, it was the thought process of those with no courage.

So, if they did not want to be called that, they had to stand up.

Even if they were afraid, even if their legs were shaking, even if their teeth were chattering, or even if their mind had gone blank…if they stood up and attempted to help someone, that showed they were 'normal'.

Being normal was not a simple thing. it was not easy. After all, doing nothing was not 'normal'. Slacking off would cause one to stray from the tittle of being 'normal'. Which meant that to be a person's version of 'normal', they had to maintain lots of effort and not slack in the slightest.

..

So…

"Show me what being 'normal' is to you. Show me just how beautiful the 'normal' world you want is!"

What course would Kamisato Kakeru, an 'ordinary high school boy', take?

"…fine." Kamisato raised his hand.

…He would act on what was the 'normal' course of action for someone like him, who had the special right hand. Who had the nature of an 'ordinary' person.

With a simple swing, that hand removed most of the black ooze that was outside the younger Birdway's body.

Almost immediately, more of the black goop that was Sample Shoggoth reared its fangs at the aggressors that were attacking it. At the same time, the shape of a young girl was slowly lost, turning Patricia's body into nothing more than a husk of skin, flesh and organs.

Yet…

"It's going to be okay."

Touma's whispered words were not directed at Patricia alone.

"This ridiculous illusion…it is all over now!"

He was speaking to both the souls that were before him.

"Honestly, why am I so nice?" Peering over Kamisato's shoulders, the plant esper Claire looked over the lying face-up Patricia as her hands worked. "Why do I have to go all out to protect someone other than Kamisato-san?!"

Yet, despite her complaints, she did not do anything half-heartedly.

First, root-like strands that looked thinner than threads slipped inside the pores all across Patricia's body, stemming from Claire's fingers. The moment they entered Patricia's body, she closed her eyes and started to whisper to herself. "…One…two…three…four…five…six…seven…eight. …Applicable locations confirmed. Preparation for creation, shaping, and injection of plant fat complete."

As she said that, Claire's fingernails grew exponentially, the cream-coloured nails quickly stabbing into different parts of Patricia's body as some of the root-like strands refracted from Patricia's body. They varied, from the girl's face and arms, to various parts of her legs and lower stomach. One of the nails. However, instead of piercing Patricia's skin, surrounded a certain portion of it instead.

Quickly, Touma used his hand to separate and remove the parasite from Leivinia's arm, revealing raw and tender skin that was hanging of an arm that was too skinny.

Despite Patricia's squirming and obvious discomfort from having something foreign being injected into her, it was obvious to see the black ooze that was Sample Shoggoth slowly being gathered towards the centre of Patricia's chest.

It wiggled beneath the young girl's skin, but every time the black, gooey parasite oozed out of her skin, Kamisato would swipe his hand across her chest, quickly gathering the black pus, before using his World Rejector to banish the black parasite out of his realm.

Everything was proceeding along as planned.

Patricia was not turning into literal skin and bones, as whatever small bit of parasite that was forcefully guided out of Patricia's body, it was instantly replaced by the plant fat that Claire was fitting inside Patricia's body. Whatever amount of the parasite that tried to escape, Kamisato would nearly instantly get rid of with the power in his right hand.

Yes, everything was going great. Too great.

And, as per usual…

…his bad luck struck.

"This is-"

""!""

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion for Touma.

One minute, the operation had proceeded fine. The next, everything went to hell, snowballing into a large problem that threatened many lives.

Kamisato had just barely scooped up the latest batch of the parasite with his right hand when it jumped ship, aiming straight for Claire's outstretched hands, which were feeding Patricia's body the fat it needed. At the same time, inky tentacles sprouted from the earth and her chest, rampaging wildly and splattering the black ooze that was it's body everywhere.

"Did Shoggoth mistake me to be part of Patricia-san?...No, damn it!" Claire cursed. "It's devouring everything it can! Just like a fish jumping from a river to a pond, it's feeling out for possible ways for itself to survive desperately!"

Shit! Touma's mind quickly realised what had happened. We must have accidently pushed Sample Shoggoth too hard! A part of it must have exited out from Patricia's back and burrowed its way out, while the other part must be acting as a way for it to spread itself and increase its survival chances! That means-

Kamisato also quickly caught on to the situation and how it ended up that way.

"Fuck!" Cursing, he swiped his hand in the air, destroying the flailing tentacles and the flying black droplets, protecting the defenceless Claire, but at the same time, gouging out a portion off dirt and concrete in the process. "Girls, get away from here! We don't want to let this spread as much as possible!"

"I'll handle Patricia-san!" Crouching down, Touma swung his fist as fast as possible, destroying the tentacles that were sprouting from Patricia's chest and the ground beside them, trying his best not to disrupt Claire's work. "Kamisato, you handle on containment and culling when that is done!"

"You don't have to tell me that!" As he shouted, Kamisato swiped his hand in a large arc, his shadow removing large clumps of dirt, concrete and the parasite from the scene. More popped up, before they were squashed by Kamisato's power.

"Her vitals are fading!" Claire said in an urgent tone. "Sample Shoggoth must have been much more intricate then we thought. It was not just eating her fat and delegating the necessary energy, it was taking care of everything!"

Nephthys did not know when the pain stopped. Not that she could actually tell if the pain had really stopped. All her senses felt like they were being muted, too overloaded they were. She was actually having a good reality check, courtesy of two certain high school boys.

When was it that I started to lose sight of what I wanted to do? She wondered to herself. When did I start to depend on others weaker then me in magical prowess and ability to accomplish goals which I could do? Oh, right. When we realised that we needed someone to help keep our powers in check.

…But, Othinus managed to achieve her happiness and goal without destroying the world accidentally. Sure, she wanted someone to understand her, unlike us, who wish to let loose and have fun with our powers without harming anyone, but does anybody besides Kamijou Touma know that?

As the battle that had raged around Nephthys started to die down, said Magic Goddess did not even notice, too preoccupied by her thoughts.

We are Magic Gods…people who had reached the very peak of magic. Nephthys frowned. Though, for me, I just…popped into existence from faith, I suppose. I can hardly remember if I became a Magic God from nothing or became one through the death of a woman.

And as Magic Gods…we should not be waiting for miracles…

Nephthys nodded. Mind made up, she slipped off of Index.

"?" Feeling a weight leave her shoulder, as well as the intermittent warm breaths on her cheek vanishing, she turned her head, quickly spotting Nephthys, who had slipped off of the petite nun, beads of sweat clearly falling down her forehead.

"Would this…be the time?" Nephthys muttered to herself.

Unbeknownst to anyone, these were the exact words that High Priest had said when he watched Othinus break apart in Denmark. And if one were to categorise High Priest, he would have been considered Evil. An evil that has saved something, as befitting of one that was called a Magic God.

"I had thought a miracle might occur, but I guess I can't escape destruction. Then again, it was strange for a god to be relying on a miracle in the first place."

"What are you-…?"

"Please tell Kamijou Touma the details of what is about to happen. He seems like he would have difficulty accepting the death of someone close to him. Tell him that, no matter what happens next, it was my choice. My body is in so much pain, it feels like hot coals are being taped against my nerves. Tell him that if I stopped moving, it was because the time had come and not because he did anything wrong."

Nephthys moved away.

Or so it initially seemed to Index, but that was inaccurate. The Magic God has simply used most of her power to turn herself intangible. Even as she was wracked with pain, she continued on with her plan. The brown beauty's outline dried and dispersed like an image of sand, leaving only her voice behind.

"That's right. I am a god. I'm not supposed to hope for a miracle; I'm supposed to be the one causing the miracles."

"Nephthys!"

Index cried out, but that was not going to accomplish anything.

Even if the woman had been weakened, she could still be considered a true god. The knowledge of 103,000 grimoires was not enough to obstruct her magic.

Her voice and presence disappeared. A small sandstorm passed over the railing and rushed toward the ground. It rushed toward Patricia Birdway whose tragedy was approaching completion as she was forced into a weakened death after the parasite lashed out in its perceived final moments.

She knew what to do as she headed towards the panicking forms of three students.

As she neared them, voices started to reach her ears. The contents of which…were very worrying.

"She's crashing!"

"Damn it! Can you stabilise her?"

"Not without accidently killing her." As Nephthys got closer, she could make out who was saying what. As she watched, she saw the one they chose speak with the one they had created. "My right hand may be able to destroy Sample Shoggoth if it is still inside Patricia, but it would also destroy any remaining fat that Claire produced. How well does World Rejector work for you?"

"If you are asking if I can isolate Sample Shoggoth from Patricia, the answer is no." The young boy that had been accidently given a power for his right hand(Kamisato her brain supplied), grimaced. "I have had this hand for only a few months, and all I know is that it is very fickle. And even if it worked right now, there is no telling if I would accidentally kill or banish Patricia. I have never tried it on someone unconscious before."

Nephthys chose this time to intervene, having seen enough.

"Then, perhaps it is time for this goddess to act one last time."

""Wha-""

Twin boys made a startled gasp towards the cloud of sand that was rapidly approaching them, but Nephthys paid it no mind.

..

She was Nephthys, a goddess passed own in Egyptian mythology. She had no real legends outside of crying at the funeral of a great god and some said her divinity was created around the idea of the crying woman.

She did not have a background or history of her own. She was a gathering of the thousands and tens of thousands of servants buried in the pyramid along with the human pharaoh. She should have had no interest in the outside world or the people who lived there. She could not search out an individual with a close relationship to her. After all, she herself had no concept of individuality. And as a group's shared consciousness, she had no intention of getting along with the descendants of those who had silently forced that group to be buried with the pharaoh.

And yet…

If one were to categorize them as good or evil, Nephthys would have been an evil god. From the viewpoint of human society, at least.

After all, after High Priest's defeat, she had not tried in the slightest to stop Niang-Niang when the other Magic God had announced she would destroy Academy City. That fact meat that she, in the view of humanity, was an evil that would allow needless and mindless slaughter of humans to achieve her goals, even if it does not affect her.

But… …even if it contradicted her previous actions and stood at odds with everything else about her, a certain thought had reached her mind when Kamisato Kakeru had attacked.

I still wanted to do something godlike.

That was the thought in her mind as she got closer to the dying girl that laid on the bare stone floor.

..

A part of Nephthys's sandstorm-like structure was changing on the microscopic level.

Her entire body was a collection of the dust that mummies became as they vanished into the flow of time. There were no traces left that could point to any individual person, but they were still the parts that had made up human bodies. This meant that she already had everything hat she needed for what she was about to do. No need to prepare extensively, like Levinia Birdway with her false fruit, or be cautious and delicate, like Claire's slow and gradual plant fat that she was filling into Patricia's body.

She already had everything that was necessary for Patricia, whose life was vanishing as Sample Shoggoth was rapidly annihilated. In other words, she had the replacement fat. But unlike the plant girl's fat, Nephthys became actual animal fat, so she could slip into Patricia's body with no risk of rejection.

And to get to that end, she had to do something that risked with her death.

She split off part of herself, remaking one part, right down to its molecular make-up.

In essence, she was turning herself into fat that would become a part of Patricia Birdway.

In the rewriting process, her existence as Nephthys would vanish. It was a lot like erasing the data on a hard disk and filling it with new data that prevented the old data from being recovered.

This was for the one part. As for the other part?

Well, it all boiled down to luck. Now that she had split herself up, the modified spell was now wrecking even more havoc on her existence. She no longer had the defences necessary to prevent her very existence as 'Nephthys the Magic God' from being torn asunder. All the pain she felt earlier, was now being condensed.

If she survived through the pain, she would be able to bring her battered defences up long enough for the spell to run its course, allowing her to live. If not…

The existence known as Nephthys would well and truly die in that alley tonight.

But strangely enough, she felt no fear.

Fear had overwhelmed her when she first met Kamisato Kakeru. For the first time in her long, long life as a Magic God, she had felt the fear of death. Such an experience did just go away after a couple of days. It was the first time she felt the emotion that every finite living being felt, and such a feeling would not be easily forgotten, much less overcome. And yet, when she once again was faced with the prospect of death, she found that in fact, she did not mind dying like this.

Idly, she wondered if this was because instead of being 'banished' by Kamisato without her input, she was now choosing to sacrifice herself to help someone. Not only to 'atone' for what she had presumed to have done, but also because as Nephthys, she was always associated with either mourning the deceased, or protecting them. Just this once, she wanted to protect the dying instead of the already dead. A final wish if she failed to survive, so to speak.

A prospect that she did not think was a path open to her. Kamisato Kakeru had one-sidedly started a fight against every Magic God in existence. A war with a 100 percent fatality rate on the side of the Magic Gods, the true GREMLIN. Even is she did survive the process of saving Patricia at a large cost of her powers, there was a large-no, high chance of her demise at Kamisato's hand. Her death was almost an inevitably at this point. And yet, despite knowing this, she felt no fear.

Perhaps, the reason why I was afraid was because I was not ready? Nephthys mused to herself as she started the process of turning the small portion of her body into fat that Patricia's body would not reject. Maybe the reason why I am so accepting of death now is because this time, I am actually doing something I wish in exchange for my death?

This time, she was not vanishing before she could accomplish something, so she did not feel the fear she had when Kamisato's hand had been unilaterally exiling her. If she had still had a face, she knew she would have been smiling. A moment later, it was all over.

The Egyptian goddess managed to reach the girl who stood on the brink of death.

"Kah…!?"

Patricia's entire body shook.

Her body, which had been rapidly losing volume and transforming into a dried mummy, quickly returned to normal as if swelling out from within. A glossy sheen returned to her skin and hair. The girl had returned to being a mere girl.

With that accomplished, the sand that had been Nephthys's body gathered once more, before solidifying into her bandaged-up body. She was swaying from side to side, sweat dripping from her face and hair. But she did not collapse, instead kneeling down slowly so as to not disturb the recently healed girl.

For a moment, Patrcia's eyes fluttered open, stirred awake by the presence of someone near her. However, her eyes were not registering any information. It seemed as if she had been trapped in a dreamlike illusion as she wandered in the gap between life and death, her widened eyes staring into empty space.

As her mind sat in an illusionary world, she spoke the question that came to mind. "Who…are you?"

Kamijou Touma and Claire, and Kamisato Kakeru did not see what she saw. But they could guess.

With the last of her strength, Nephthys leaned over the semi-conscious girl, her hand raising to cup her cheek.

The response that Patricia received reached her twice over. Although one was faint, barely managing to make its way to Patricia by vibrating the air and her eardrums, the second one, which echoed in her mind, was clearly heard.

"If you have to call me something, I guess you could call me a god."

The threat was over.

With the Antarctic parasite inside Patricia Birdway's body dealt with, the threat of the apple inside Leivinia Birdway's body was also resolved. For a while, Birdway seemed unable to believe the miracle that had descended on them, but after checking over her unconscious sister's body, she had no choice but to accept it. She did not give any verbal thanks, but pulling out and throwing away the strange artificial organ in her chest was proof enough.

Yes, the threat on Patricia Bidway's life was finally over. No longer would it threaten to kill her, like the parasite it was.

But the event?

There was still one last clear condition before everything was resolved.

"Well?" Touma asked his counterpart. "What are you going to do? This isn't over yet, is it?"

"No, it isn't."

Kamisato Kakeru. A normal High School boy, by all accounts. He should not have any reason to be in Academy City, nor a reason to hate someone he had never met personally.

Yet, he was there. Surrounded by numerous girls, with a grudge in his heart.

Patricia's incident had been a detour for Kamisato. He had stumbled across her while dealing with the Magic Gods and Imagine Breaker. Due to his nature, he had simply been unable to ignore the life at risk before his eyes.

Now that he was freed from that, he would return to his main task: Killing the Magic Gods that remained.

"I have one question for you," said Kamisato. "Quite a few Magic Gods were closely involved in the creation of my World Rejecter and your Imagine Breaker. They are also the root cause of the strange environment surrounding us and the many incidents we find ourselves caught up in, so you could call them the reason we are no longer normal. …Don't you think we have a right to take revenge?"

A question that would have prompted one of three responses; Hesitance, Denial, or Acceptance.

Hesitance, due to the inherent morals of a regular person. After all, no ordinary, regular student should decide the fate of an individual.

Denial, because after everything that happened, an ordinary High School Student should not, would not, allow revenge to be carried out through death.

Acceptance, because if one were an ordinary High School Student and had to go through what Kamisato Kakeru or Kamijou Touma went through, they would want to kill the person who was behind all the incidents and the strange surroundings they found themselves in out of the blue.

In fact, there was no need for Kamisato to ask that question.

Nephthys was knocked out, severely weakened and in pain as her body writhed on the ground. She was utterly defenceless, and there was no way Toua, who was blocked by Kamisato, could do anything before she was banished.

If Kamisato was dead set on his revenge, he would have banished Nephthys, snatched away Othinus from the injured Touma, banished her, and be on his way. But he did not.

Touma did not hesitate to answer the unspoken question Kamisato was asking him.

While Othinus had nearly killed him and fried his brain, they both reached an intimate understanding of each other. With High Priest, he had met the Magic God and eventually allowed his death. It could have been considered a mercy killing from one point of view, as the man-turned-go was unable to die naturally.

Nephthys, he had only spoken to once, and was thus unsure if she should be allowed to live. She could have been a deranged killer, or someone with no morals. But after this...

"If…" Touma swallowed, moistening his parched throat "If you can call them 'nothing but' evil after seeing Nephthys's actions then you really are my enemy, Kamisato. You look evil to me. So much so that I feel an urge to cut you off."

"…" A glance towards the downed, sweating Nephthys. Eyes and head swivelled to look at Touma, narrowed in contemplation. Hand poise over his neck, he took a step forward, away from Nephthys.

Taking a single step forward, Kamisato Kakeru cracked his neck, a bitter expression clearly showing how he wished he had not seen Nephthys's actions. All the girls that had gathered around him stepped away, allowing for a space to be formed.

In response, Touma left fifteen centimetre Othinus with Index. Realizing what he wanted them to do, the silver-haired nun and Birdway backed away while the latter held her limp sister.

As the two teenagers walked towards each other like they were the opposite poles of a magnet, their visions slowly removed all unnecessary distractions around their surroundings. In the dim lighting, it seemed as if they were being sucked into a void of darkness, devoid of anything besides them.

They stopped several meters away from each other. Had either of them take a single step more, and had they raised their fists, the other boy would have been able to see their opponent's fists in close detail.

Kamisato was the first to break the silence. "You know, before even thinking about my revenge against the Magic Gods, when I had just received World Rejecter and learned of you, there was something that had me very curious."

"…" Touma chose not to say anything, merely observing Kamisato as he slowly flexed and unflexed his right hand.

"My World Rejecter and your Imagine Breaker are the ultimate weapon and the ultimate shield. If the world's two most extreme irregulars clash, which one will win?"

"It might not be that big a deal." Touma narrowed his eyes. He would admit, he too had such a thought when he had the brief chance to rest from Kamisato's girls. But in the end, Touma believed that such a thing would not have too dire of an end result.

…Well, not dire enough that it would cause an explosion that would destroy a large area anyway.

"Really?" Kamisato raised an eyebrow in seeming disbelief. "I'm actually a little worried that it might cause something like an antimatter reaction."

…I can see where he is coming from. Touma agreed with Kamisato's assessment. At least, in the begining anyway. It is more likely that our two hands would either cancel each other out, or 'That' would appear. Hopefully, it is the former.

"This time, no tricks." Great strength filled Kamisato's fist as he settled into a punching stance.

"Right." Similarly, Touma did the same.

Both boys, who were once ordinary High School students once upon a time, who had no formal training whatsoever and still managed to come out on top of various incidents and conflicts they should have had no right to be in, faced each other. Their stances were both similar, yet different, that it could have been akin to looking at a mirror image of themselves. Only, not only were their core values and outlooks an opposite to themselves, their fighting styles were also mirror images.

One utilised every hand he came across, training his body to be a close-quarters combatant. He searched for various ways to reach the best, ideal end result possible that left everyone happy. His right fist was one that both protected and beat a path to the desired path.

The other took advantage of his own hand, never letting go or adding to it. He used it to make up for his weakness, and was set in his 'black and white' mindset. He was aware of the grey, but rarely chose it. He searched for a way to fulfil the wish of a person, sticking to predetermined paths from the beginning. His right hand was the strongest weapon, able to decimate anything in its path.

Both boys had the 'Tools of God.' Both boys were on equal footing, only relying on a single strike to see what would be the end result.

The unreliable illumination from the streetlights suddenly vanished. Complete darkness fell.

And in that darkness, something happened.

A deafening noise rang out in the soundless surroundings.

*Bang, Bang, Bang*

Oh...Hello there. Been awhile, hasn't it?

*Bang, Bang, Bang*

Now, you may be wondering, what is this sound effect doing here?

*Bang, Bang, Bang*

Well, the answer is pretty simple. I hate myself and thus, am expressing it through this AN. Why, you may ask?

Because I procrastinated. For. 9. MONTHS!

I said I would try and rush chapters out. Never got around to it cause of real life events. I had this nearly done though, so I should have posted it around December- Januray. Why didn't I? As usual, procrastination. Hell, never even got around to watching my new anime!

Hopefully, I will be able to churn out a few more chapters before I post chapters at the end of March after a 12 month hiatus on this series.

Now, onto the proper AN, shall we?

This chapter is pretty lackluster, but it is a given considering my muse for this story is dead at the moment. It'll come back, but only for brief moments. Probably will be back in full force by the end of this series. Despite it being lacklustre, it does set up some points I am expanding upon and will pave the way for the end.

There will be a new chapter coming out in the next two weeks or so.

Well, Anime is Life and please Review!